


Silent Night

by macandcaseus



Category: Purple Hyacinth - Ephemerys & Sophism (Webcomic)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Dancing, F/M, Fluff, kissing before marriage, these two... own my soul
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:20:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28306674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/macandcaseus/pseuds/macandcaseus
Summary: Kym and Will walk home at midnight on Christmas Day - but they get a bit distracted.
Relationships: William Hawkes & Kym Ladell, William Hawkes/Kym Ladell
Comments: 8
Kudos: 48





	Silent Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zvesemery](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zvesemery/gifts).



> This is (part of) my secret Santa gift for Mery! I hope you enjoy the fluff ^_^

These walks from the precinct to home had become almost nightly for Kym and Will, so much so that, more often than not, they found themselves waiting for the other to finish at the office. They told themselves it was to keep the other safe at night. That linking their arms was so the other wouldn’t get too cold in the winter night air. That they didn’t talk about work-related things because they were sick of thinking about it all day—which was true, but that didn’t mean they needed to talk about their families, their childhoods, what they would like to do if they didn’t have so much responsibility hefted on their shoulders.

The snow crunched beneath their shoes, and they had fallen into a comfortable silence—out of the corner of his eye, Will watched the snowflakes speckle Kym’s head, turning her dark blue hair into a star-filled night sky. 

As they approached the spot where Will would turn and Kym would continue straight, words pushed at his lips. Words he’d wanted to say for too long, but never had the courage to let them free. They filled his throat to bursting, and he opened his mouth to put voice to the ache. 

Bells rang out, and Kym stopped in her tracks, stopping Will, too. They listened to the clock tower chime, counting out twelve tolls of the bell. “It’s Christmas Day,” Kym said. She glanced up to Will with a soft smile. “Merry Christmas, William.”

His throat loosened, the words falling back into his chest. He returned her smile and said instead, “Merry Christmas, Kym.”

She sighed happily, tilting her head back and closing her eyes. Notes hummed from her lips, and it only took a moment for Will to recognize “Silent Night” as her head and arms gently swayed. 

Kym took a step forward, but stopped when Will let her arm slip out of his. “What?” she asked. 

He swallowed, the words trying to bubble back up, and held out his hand. “Dance with me?” he asked, his voice quiet. 

Her eyes widened in surprise, but a smile quickly followed, and she slipped her hand into his. He pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her waist, and she draped hers over his shoulder. “Keep humming,” he said, his head bowed to gaze into her eyes. 

She started from the beginning, and he let the familiar melody sink into his skin before he asked, “Do you know how to waltz?”

“No,” Kym said, the notes falling away.

“Alright, follow my lead. So, I step forward, you step back.” They stepped, torsos bumping together. “Feet together, then to the side.” They glided across the snow, an imprint trailing behind them. “And now you step forward—”

Kym stepped with the wrong foot, treading on Will’s and tripping them both. His arms encircled her as he stumbled back, and her giggles teased laughter from him. “No, no, the other foot,” he said, grinning. 

“I don’t know, I kind of like this new dance we’ve made up,” Kym said, her cheeks pink in the chill. Their bodies were pressed together, the now-familiar scent of jasmine and citrus, like summer, wreathing him, and all Will wanted to do was stay like this for as long as—

Kym pulled back, repositioning their hands and her arm on his shoulder. “Let’s try again.”

He cleared his throat. “Okay. We’ll start slow.”

They cycled through the steps, their pace gradually increasing. The snow packed on the ground as they trod in their footprints over and over. Kym had begun humming again, and Will harmonized with her, keeping both of them in time with their steps. 

Eventually, Kym stopped looking at her feet long enough to look into Will’s face, and the golden lamplight reflected off the snow and caught in her eyes, an artificial sunlight that stole the breath from Will’s lungs. They had fallen silent a little bit ago, still going through the motions of the steps, but those were slowing, too. At last, Will guided Kym’s arm over her head, turning her into a slow spin, and when they came back together, they stilled, staring at one another and smiling, the foggy clouds of their breath weaving together. 

Kym leaned into Will, and he hugged her, placing his hand on the back of her head. “Are you cold?” he asked. 

“Not really,” she said with a shrug, the pink in her cheeks darkening. “Not—not right now.”

Will swallowed, both of them staring at each other. Kym pressed her lips together, her gaze flicking to his mouth and back up to his eyes. She took in a breath, shivering ever-so-slightly in his arms.

Those words— _ Kym, when we’re together I can never stop looking at you. When we’re apart you’re always on my mind. We bicker about everything, but I never resent you for it. In fact, I admire that you’re able to bring out a side of me that I’m usually able to hide far, far away. I never thought I’d find someone who would be able to make me forget about my responsibilities and lift the pressure from my shoulders, if only for the time that we spend together— _ forced their way back into his mouth, and the weight of them pulled him down, like a magnet, to her. He pressed his forehead to Kym’s, and she gasped, soft, as he searched her eyes for any hesitation. She grazed his chin with her fingertips, and he followed her silent confirmation, brushing his lips against hers—a kiss so soft at first, until she placed her hands on either side of his face, and he kissed her deeper, holding her to him, their bodies curving into one another. 

His heart pounded at the electric comfort of her lips on his. Her fingers combed through the hair at the base of his scalp, and they smiled against one another, their kiss turning playful as Will pressed one to the corner of her mouth, her cheek, her nose, and she laughed in his arms. 

He pulled back, breathless, grinning, face flushed. She placed her hands on the sides of his face, her laughter slowing, but that smile still so, so brilliant. “Will,” she sighed, “you have …  _ no idea _ how long I’ve been waiting for you to do that.”

Will, too happy for words, only pressed his forehead to hers again, catching her lips in another kiss, this time slower, deliberate—the kiss he’d dreamed of giving her for months now. When they broke apart again, each was more subdued, but they still shone under the nighttime lamps. 

His eyes passed over her face, and his breath caught in his chest. “Kym,” he said, hesitating.

“What?”

“I’ve always wanted to …” he cradled her cheek in his hand, and she leaned into him as he rubbed his thumb over the slight bump of her mole. He bent, tilting his head to press a gentle kiss to the spot, and against his lips he could tell she was beaming—a fact confirmed when he stood up and her face was flushed pink, her smile radiant. 

She buried her face in Will’s chest, he rested his chin on the top of her head, and they swayed together, in silence, for a few moments more. 

“We should… we should each get back home,” Will said, though he wanted to capture this moment and keep it like a snow globe, serene and palm-sized forever. 

Kym sighed, turning her head up to look at him. “Yeah. I don’t want my parents worrying about me.” This time she was the one to reach on tiptoes, guiding his lips to hers in one more kiss, the most delicate yet—a kiss that said,  _ Goodnight, but I promise to return for more. _

She pulled back, remaining in his arms, and they laughed, heads bowing together. “Okay. I should be getting home,” Kym said, stepping back. Will’s hands traced down her arms, to her wrists, to her hands. She squeezed them, and he squeezed back. 

“Yeah. Me too.”

She swallowed, brows pinching, head tilting. “What are you doing for Christmas?”

Will pressed his lips together, a pang ringing in his heart despite the joy that wrapped the rest of him. “I’ll be going to my parents’ for dinner.”

“You’re not doing anything in the morning?”

He shook his head, shrugging. 

“Will!” Kym threaded their fingers together. “Please, come to my house tomorrow morning.”

A smile tugged the corners of his mouth up. “What? Really?”

She pulled him back to her, and he laughed at the shock on her face. “Yes, really! My parents would be thrilled to have you. Besides,” she tilted her head, lips smiling but eyes full of concern. “No one should be alone on Christmas Day.”

“Okay. I’ll come over.”

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and he hugged her back, one hand in her feather-soft hair, the other around her waist. She kissed his cheek, then his lips, and he kissed her back until she said, “We should really go home now.”

“I guess.” He let her go. “Goodnight, Kym. Merry Christmas.”

She smiled, still blushing, her eyes glittering. “Goodnight and merry Christmas to you, too, Will.”

They backed away from each other, neither wanting to be the first to turn away. Kym’s hands were stuffed in the pockets of her coat, and their smiles reflected one another as they walked backward, trying not to slip on any hidden patches of ice. Finally, Will had to turn down the street, and before she was hidden from sight, Kym blew him a kiss and waved. He returned the gestures, his more subdued, but his smile still glowing for her. 

Once on the new street, Will ran, the sheer euphoria coursing through his veins needing a way to get out. He slid across the snow, throwing his arms out for balance as he spun, his coat and scarf fluttering around him as he let out another laugh, this one reckless, unrestrained joy. He came to a stop, looking up at the sky and letting out a foggy sigh before he closed his eyes, letting the memory of Kym in his arms and on his lips wash over him, keeping him warm even though he had been outside for nearly an hour by this point. 

New words formed in his mind that he wanted to say to her, words he knew would soon want out, like the old ones did. 

_ Not yet, _ he thought.  _ I have plenty of time to tell her everything I want to.  _ Another laugh, this one quieter, but no less happy, danced into the otherwise silent night.  _ We have all the time in the world. _


End file.
